Tubular fastener and blank



Feb. 16, 1932. E. L, 5|BLEY 1,845,524

TUBULAR FASTENER AND BLANK Filed Nov. 1l, 1930 [rapero/6071 ZZZLCUd/L,

Patented Feb. 16, 1932 EDWARD L. SIBLEY, F BENNINGTON, VERMONT TUBULAR FASTENER AND :BLANK Application filed November 11, 1930. Serial No. 494,887.

This invention relates to improved tubular fasteners for joining together sheets of paper or other sheet material, and also to the blanks from which said fasteners may be formed. The invention also contemplates the provision of a strip of sheet material comprising a plurality of tubular fastener blanks joined together by lugs.

The tubular fasteners of this invention 'io are made from al blank of sheet material,

a plurality of said blanks Vbeing preferably died out of a strip of such material and adjacent blanks joined together by lugs. Subsequently, the blanks comprising thestrips of sheet material are separated one from another by cutting across said lugs andV the sheet material blanks thus obtained are formed by means of dies into tubular rivets, each of said rivets having a flange consisting of two semi-circular portions, each portion being continuous throughout and the adjacent edges of the semi-circular flanges having lugs.

The object of this invention is to provide fasteners of the character set forth which are strong; which present a neat appearance; Y which may be rapidly and economically manufactured, and which may be forced through 'sheet material without first punching a hole in the material.

The invention consists in tubular fasteners of the construction hereinafter set forth in the specication and in the blanks from which said fasteners may be formed and also in a strip of material embodying a plurality of said blanks joined together by lugs, all as particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of a strip of sheet material embodying a plurality of blanks from eachl of which the improved fastener of my invention may be formed.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the blanks detached from the strip.

rlustrating the abutting ends Y pleted fastener Fig. 3 is a plan view of the complete fastener.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 5 is a view of the fastener inserted in two layers of sheet material and partly collapsed.

F ig. 6 is a plan view of the fastener when entirely collapsed and showing a piece of sheet material in which the fastener is set.

Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Y Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail plan View showing a portion of the strip of sheet material.

Fig. 9 is arplan view similar to Fig. 8 illustratingthe preferred divisional line between two adjacent blanks. f

Fig. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the tubular fastener, particularly ilof the flanges thereof.

Fig. 11 is a plan view similar to Fig. 10.

The different views of the drawings are very much enlarged from the actual size of the blank and fastener. j j

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In 'the drawings, 9 is a strip of sheet material'and comprising, as illustrated in Fig.

1, al plurality ofblanks 10 of sheet material,

each of said blanks comprising, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, a central portion 11 indicated by a dotted circle 12, a pair of oppositely disposed arcuate end portions 13 and a pair of intermediate portions 14 connecting the arcuate portions 13 and the `central portion l1. The innery edges of the arcuate portions are indicated by dotted lines 15, the outer edges by arcs 16. The arcuate portions 13 are blanked in such shape as to preferably form a substantially concentric portion about thev portions 14 at the open end 11 of the comand constitute a flange therefor. The opposite ends of thearcuate portions 13 terminate in edges 17 which converge toward the median longitudinal line A-A of the blank, and the sides 21 of the blank connect the inner ends of the edges 17 together. The sides 21 comprise straight parallel portions 22 and extend toward the center of' the central portion midway of their length to form convex portions 23.

The different blanks 10 which constitute the strip 9 are joined together by lugs 30 as illustrated in Fig. 8, and when the blanks are separated from each other preparatory to forming a tubular fastener they are preferably cut across the lugs 30 on the line 31 as illustrated in Fig. 9. Thus each of the opposite ends or edges 17 of the arcuate portions 13 has a lug 32 projecting therefrom and these lugs are located within the arcuate" edge 16 and when the fastener is formed the lugs 32 on the ends of the arcuate portions abut.

The blanks 10 are preferably formed with slits 18 in the intermediate portions 14, the

said slits extending from the central portion 11 to the inner edges 15 of the arcuate portions 13. Preferably the slits 18 terminate at their inner ends at the circle 12 and at their outer ends at the inner edges 15 of the arcuate portions 13, although the slits 18 might terminate slightly within the edges 15 and at a slight distance from the end portion 11, the object of the slits being to enable a fastener to be formed with one end closed, the other end open, and with a pair of oppositely disposed semi-circular portions forming together an annular flange. A further object of the slits being to enable the fastener to be collapsed from the form illustrated in Fig. 4 to that illustrated in Fig. 6.

Vhen the blank 10 has been died and slitted as illustrated in Fig. 2 it is then formed into the tubular fastener 10 illustrated in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, in whichthe central portion 11 constitutes a closed end. The intermediate portions 14 form a body portion for the fastener and the arcuate portions 13 form the flange, substantially concentric with the open end 11.

In the completed fastener, prior to the setting of the same, the sides 21, comprising the straight portions 22 and the conveXly curved portions 23, form a pair of slits 24 which eX- tend from the closed end 11 longitudinally of the body portion 14 and across the flange 13.

The fastener 10 is inserted and set in pieces of sheet material 19, as illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 by means of a suitable mechanism, such as that disclosed in patent to Tarrant Sibley, No. 1,600,517 patented September 21, 1926, device for setting fasteners in sheet material.

In the setting of the fastener 10 in the material 19, the closed end 11 and the body portion 14 of the fastener are driven through the material by a machine, such as that illustrat- Vas illustrated in Fig.

ed by said Letters Patent, with the flange 13 beneath the material and the body portion of the fastener collapsed by pressure.

The slits 18 allow sub-divisions 20 of the' intermediate portions 14 to collapse, as illustrated in Fig. 5, when submitted to pressure until finally the pressure continuing, the subdivisions 20 are flattened outwardly and doubled downwardly against the material 19, as illustrated in Fig. 7. It will be seen that the slits 18 extend a portion of the distance only between the closed end 11 and the outer edge of the flange 13. This leaves the two arcuate portions of the flange very strong and they present a neat appearance after the fastener is set in the material. Also, the slits 18 terminating preferably at the inner edges of the arcuate portions forming the flanges, renders the forming of the fastener into the shape illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 much easier than Ain forms of fasteners shown in the prior art,

where these slits extended through the outer ends of the blank or through the peripheral portions of the flange.

By dieing' out the strip of sheet material 9 1 with the dierent blanks joined to-gether by the lugs 30, said lugs being located within the arcuate edges of the blanks, a strip .of material embodying a plurality of blanks is obtained, the blanks being joined together by the lugs 30 with sufficient strength to render it possible to feed the strip into a machine where the blanks are separated one by one therefrom ind formed into the tubular fasteners of my invention, and yet, the lugs do not project beyond the arcuate edges of the flange portions, so that the periphery ofthe flange of the fastener is smooth and presents a neat appearance ywhen set in the goods.

Fig. V11 illustrates a plan view on an enlarged scale of a portion of a tubular fastener illustrating the lugs 32 overlapping or lying vadjacent to one another instead of abutting,

and the opposite ends or edges 17 of the arcuate portions 13 abutting.

I claim 1. A tubular fastener embodying a closed end, an open end, and a flangel surrounding said open end, the flange comprising two oppositely disposed arcuatey portions each terminating at their opposite ends in straight edges, and abutting lugs projecting from the end edges of said arcuate portions.

2. A tubular fastener 'embodying a closed end, an open end, and a flange surrounding said open4 end, the flange comprising two oppositely disposed arcuate portions each terminating at their opposite ends in straight edges, and lugs projecting from the end edges of said arcuate portions located within the arcuate outer edges of said flange portions.

3. A blank offsheet material comprising -a pair 'of oppositely disposed arcuate end portions and lugs projecting from the end edges m hand.

y EDWARD L. SIBLEY. 

